Best Domestic Airlines for Food 2023

United Airlines — Photo:
Angela Rowlings / MediaNews Group / Boston Herald via Getty Images

Global Tastemakers is our first-ever reader’s choice awards, celebrating the best culinary destinations in the U.S. and abroad. F&W readers voted based on travel completed within the past three years, on categories including restaurants and bars, cities, hotels, airports, airlines, and cruises. Due to the limitations of pandemic travel, this year’s Global Tastemakers winners reflect a smaller portion of the globe. In many categories, we’re including an editor’s pick to shout out some more culinary destinations in places you can’t miss. See all the winners at foodandwine.com/globaltastemakers.

You never expect to have the best meal of your life on an airplane, but it’s certainly not outside the realm of possibility. If you think about it, an airplane seat is a perfect place for dinner. With nowhere else to be, you can fully give yourself over to whatever is on your plate. Sure, food tastes a little different when cruising 30,000 feet in the air — thanks to humidity levels and air pressure changes — but airline chefs can counterbalance ingredients and spices to offer truly memorable dishes.

These are the five airlines that go above and beyond with their in-flight meals, according to the world’s best group of travelers (you).

01 of 06

Hawaiian Airlines

To design its menus, Hawaiian Airlines brought on chefs Wade Ueoka and Michelle Karr-Uoeka, both executive chefs at the MW Restaurant with experience at Alan Wong’s Restaurant and The French Laundry. Hawai‘i’s 2020 Restaurateurs of the Year prioritize island-born ingredients, like Lilikoi passion fruit mustard and Hawaiian sweet potatoes, and their in-flight menus are truly inspired. Standout first-class dishes include zucchini and pea risi e bisi with basil macadamia nut pesto and roasted asparagus (available on routes to and from Boston and New York); Hawaiian sweet potato hash, cage-free scrambled eggs with roasted cherry tomatoes and Canadian bacon with honey mustard sauce (available on routes to and from Austin); and lemongrass chicken yakisoba (available on routes to and from the West Coast).

02 of 06

Delta Air Lines

Most travelers look forward to the airline’s iconic Biscoff cookies, but there’s more to enjoy. From a tea selection from Thrive Farmers to free snacks for all travelers (no matter which class), you won’t go hungry on a Delta flight. Flights ranging from 900 to 2,299 miles offer flyers one chef-curated meal, while long-haul flights (more than 2,300 miles) serve meals 24 hours a day. The airline also offers plant-based dishes — like Impossible burgers and plant-based lamb meatballs from Black Sheep Foods — for select Delta One and First Class flyers on flights 900 miles and farther. In addition to food, Delta also serves cocktails made with vodka from Du Nord Social Spirits, the first Black-owned distillery in America. And now, passengers can purchase espresso martinis right from their seat.

03 of 06

Alaska Airlines

Inspired by the West Coast food scene, Alaska Airlines has packed its menus with bright flavors and regional ingredients. While many airlines reserve the best dishes for first class, all cabin levels have access to actual meals — not just tiny bags of chips. Main Cabin and Premium Classes have options ranging from Mediterranean tapas (hummus, dark chocolate, almonds, and olives) to a ginger beef wrap (featuring sous vide ginger and garlic marinated sirloin). First class flyers on flights 1,100 miles or more can enjoy a fruit bowl or salad followed by an entrée (ranchero eggs or jerk chicken, for example) or a fruit and cheese platter. And lunch and dinner flights are always capped off with a dessert.

04 of 06

JetBlue Airlines

Flyers from across the States have applauded JetBlue for its name-brand snacks (Cheez-Its, anyone?), but the airline’s first-class menus are nothing to overlook. Like Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue brings on a roster of chefs to design offerings for travelers. In February 2023, the airline worked with the brains behind NYC spots Charlie Bird and Parcelle (a wine shop) to create the most recent menu. For breakfast, guests can choose from a full menu of coffee and teas and a selection of small plates (think lemon soufflé pancakes and smoked trout). Lunch and dinner highlights include burrata, cacio e pepe, sage cashew-crusted red snapper, Jamaican vegetable stew, or flat iron steak.

05 of 06

United Airlines

In June 2022, United upgraded the in-flight dining experience by offering hot meals for mainline flights traveling more than 800 miles. The Bistro on Board menu is available for purchase for longer domestic flights, offering breakfast (Impossible breakfast sandwich, ham and cheese sandwich, or mixed berry overnight oats) and lunch/dinner (Southwest chicken salad, beer cheese pretzel burger, or a cheese and fruit tray). The onboard eats have been curated by chefs Gerry McLoughlin and Gerry Gulli, who keep tabs on the latest food trends to keep their menus fresh and exciting. Not to be overlooked, the wine list was created by Master Sommelier Doug Frost, one of three people in the world who have earned both the Master Sommelier and Masters of Wine titles.

06 of 06

Editor’s Pick: Hawaiian Airlines

We agree with our readers that Hawaiian Airlines has some of the most standout in-flight food in the country, with menus curated by the airline’s executive chefs, Wade Ueoka and Michelle Karr-Ueoka of Honolulu’s MW Restaurant, and complimentary Mai Tais served in all cabins. Even better, the airline teams up with nonprofits on the island like Kākoʻo ʻŌiwi, a community-based nonprofit that’s helping sustainably restore land for the agricultural production of kalo (taro). — F&W Editors

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